US Hispanic Marketing

I met Chuck Brown in the Metro in Washington D.C., speaking with his wife Ja Ja before actually meeting him. His wife asked me if I wanted to meet Chuck and it was a really beautiful moment. I told them that African Americans should unite. We know that Bill Cosby has turned off a lot of African American youth over the years and I think that Bill Cosby has learned from that experience. I asked Chuck Brown and his wife to unite with people like Bill Cosby, African American leaders like Jesse Jackson, and other prominent African Americans so that finally all African Americans can earn a diploma that has eluded them since the days of slavery. If only Dr. Martin Luther King had said, “I have a dream and one day the Million Man Movement will make sure that everyone has a high school diploma and if a person cannot complete high school, he or she will get a GED right away.” His view from the mountain top was incomplete, because his life was taken away. With millions of African American and Latinos trying to compete in a nation with very limited resources, during war or peace, it adversely affects young and old across the United States. I recently met one youth while taking my campaign into the streets of Corona, New York. He was talking with Herman Mendoza of the Steppingstones Ministries about the “gang bangers” that Chaplain Mendoza used to sell drugs with and associate with. This youth knew the history of the streets too well and he ended up in a prison for youth at the age of 15. The good news is that this youth enrolled in school after getting out and he just turned 16 and is “chilling” instead of committing new crimes.

The same thing is affecting Africans and Arabs in France right now. France has an equivalency of their high school diploma too and a few years ago, I wondered while visiting France and its Department of Education in Paris, how many of these immigrants actually know that they can take an examination to earn an equivalency and then go to the university in France? The youth rioting in France or anywhere can learn a lot from the wisdom of Chuck Brown and Chaplain Mendoza, and from the wisdom of a youth who has served time for doing wrong and, hopefully, will be “chilling” the rest of his life as he uses whatever resources he has to change his life and make it better. I strongly suggest that we all “chill” together.

Below is a portion of an interview with Chuck Brown by Mary Eckstein of the National Endowment of the Arts. I think Chuck Brown is trying to tell people that we have limited resources and we have to make the best with what we have. But it is imperative that we be informed and take advantage of our educational opportunities.

MARTIN N. DANENBERG
7 BLAZER DRIVE
ISLANDIA, NY11749
GEDHOTLINE@AOL.COM
631-348-1341
WWW.GEOCITIES.COM/GEDHOTLINE
WWW.AHORRE.COM

Q: What advice do you have for young go-go musicians?

MR. BROWN: Well, I would advise all the young go-go musicians to please keep on doing what you're doing, keep the faith, love each other, and try to have a good vibe in your band. Do not criticize each other. Try to compliment each other as much as you can regardless of what kind of mistakes are made. There's always going to be somebody in the band who doesn't play as well, but stick with that person and show them love. We're all learning. Keep your vibe alive - that's how your band can last a long time. You can't go out to play with a bad vibe and expect the people not to feel it. They will. If you're mad with somebody in the band or you got a little upset with somebody at home, don't bring that on a gig.